Artifact Analysis II: Irene Adler

In a previous post, I took a look at the women of BBC's Sherlock. As I struggled to come up with a topic for this artifact analysis, I decided that I should stick to something I know. Anyone who has seen my Tumblr blog knows that I know Sherlock. One character that captivated me from the moment she came on screen was Irene Adler as portrayed by Lara Pulver. This woman-- the woman-- crosses all the lines, pulls out all the stops, and makes the audience rethink femininity. By looking at her role as the Femme Fatale trope, her career choice, as well as her sexual preferences, we can see how writer Steven Moffat hoped to define (or perhaps redefine) what it means to be a woman.

You would be hard-pressed to find a form of entertainment that didn't contain tropes. Ideas, after all cannot be destroyed once they are created. We simply reuse the ideas we know to suit our purposes. One such idea is that of the femme fatale. This is a female character with high sex appeal who often carries a secret and is always deadly in some way. In the defense of Moffat, his Adler syncs up pretty well with the cannon Doyle Adler. He didn't rewrite the character to be drastically different as far as her story line goes. While this trope might not seem like a bad thing, there are necessary flaws. The woman never gets away with the crime she is trying to commit. She is always loses to the usually male protagonist. On a similar not, she is often an antagonist. Perhaps this highlights what our society believes about women with power. Women with power are not supposed to win. Maybe that is dangerous. Perhaps there is a highly unlikely chance than the patriarchy is scared and feels threatened by the concept of a female doing more than housework and seeking something other secretarial work. Despite the fact that Moffat keeps Adler her self true to cannon, the way he works the story breaks some of the rules of this trope. In the end, Irene's secret is revealed and she does admit to getting too emotionally involved with Sherlock. Whether or not she loses to him, however, I think is debatable given the end of the episode. She is even able to stay off of Mycroft's radar, as far as we know.

Originally, Doyle wrote Adler to be a prima donna turned courtesan. Given the time period of the story, it is safe to say that Adler would have been doing more... attentive attending to wealthy individuals than courtesans of earlier history. This itself is slightly scandalous, but Moffat takes it a step farther. Sherlock's Adler makes her living as a dominatrix. I would have been easy at this point for Moffat to take all of society's ideas about the sex industry and use them to turn Irene into a slimy, sleazy, and unlikable woman, but he didn't. The first time Sherlock sees her in person, the Adler society might expect would most likely try to seduce Sherlock into getting what she wants. Irene, however, is more cunning than that. She uses the fact that she is comfortable with herself to throw him off his guard. In my previous post I mentioned Irene being sexy, but not sexual. This moment is what I was attempting to convey. She walks into the room naked in a successful attempt to make Sherlock forget his alias. This scene takes place in Adler's home, which I feel could have been another area where Moffat could have chosen to degrade Adler and her profession. Her place of residence, however, is clean and spacious. She lives well, but is not what I would call excessive. Her home, I feel, is a good representation of her-- to the point, functional, and open.

Not only is Adler open about what she does, but is also open about her sexuality. One might assume that because she is paid to dominate, she might be sexually attracted to anyone with the money to hire her. Not only does this assumption paint her as shallow, it is also incorrect.  In a dialogue with John, she accuses him of being jealous of Sherlock's responses toward her advances. John, as per usual, responds that he is not gay. Without missing a beat, Adler retorts that she is. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a lesbian dominatrix whose sexuality is somewhat fluid! To my knowledge, the original Adler was heterosexual. For Moffat to think this carefully about her character is amazing. This is one of the biggest changes he could have made to spice up the typical femme fatale trope. In the spirit of Adaptation and given Tumblr user Ceilingtheo's post, we might even have a non-heterosexual love triangle on our hands.

There is something delightfully edgy about Lara Pulver as Irene Adler. When one watches "A Scandal in Belgravia," it is hard not to notice that there is something new and exciting about this character. You do not have to like her, but I feel like there is something wonderful about her that cannot be ignored. Pulver's performance was stunning and Moffat's writing was simply stellar. The next time you see a bland housewife, a trashy prostitute, or a femme fatale convinced to be a good guy on television, just remember that somewhere in the Sherlock universe there exists a lesbian dominatrix who manages to outwit the British government. If that doesn't make your inner feminist smile, I am not sure what will.